New to the UK is SoundTech's range of sound reinforcement equipment. Mike Crofts reviews their LT2 passive, full-range, two-way speakers in conjunction with the two-channel PS800 amplifier.

The SoundTech series of sound reinforcement equipment is new to the UK and includes a wide range of PA mixers, amps, and processors. Imported from the USA, the range is distributed by Smart Sound Direct. The LT2 speakers and PS800 power amp are a couple of the more general-purpose products, and I received them for review with interest.

To deal with the LT2 speakers first, they are essentially a pair of passive, full-range, two-way cabinets, each having a 12-inch bass unit teamed with an HF compression driver and large horn, fed via a passive internal crossover and protection circuits. The cabinets are built using a wood composite material and wear an attractive and rugged-looking black carpet finish. The curved protective grille over the front, which is made from metal diamond-pattern mesh, is slightly curved, thus offering a degree of protection to the drive units. The cabinets are trapezoidal in shape, but with a finer angle than is usual in this type of enclosure, resulting in a cabinet of compact dimensions (26.5 inches high, 15.5 inches wide), but which still claims to offer a full bass response; each 8 Ohm cabinet is rated at 240W (RMS) and has a quoted frequency response of 45Hz to 20kHz.

The moulded carrying handles, which are recessed into the cabinet sides, are comfortable to grip when carrying a speaker between two people or on your own. Each cabinet also has non-slip rubber feet, which are just squidgy enough to absorb some vibration and protect your antique table top.

The connector/control panel at the back is well recessed and accommodates a pair of parallel jack input sockets, plus a couple of interesting extra features. There is an LED labelled 'DACN', which indicates when the protection circuitry is operating. This circuit — more fully described as 'dynamic analog compression network' (their spelling) — is described in the accompanying literature as "the safest, best sounding HF protection available in Pro Audio today", which is quite a claim to fame!

Another feature heralded in the brochure is SoundTech's 'TenuFuse' technology, which is a user-configurable three-position selector, allowing the signal fed to the HF driver to be attenuated by 3dB, 6dB or not at all. This is a good idea, and much better than the horrible rotary controls found on some two-way systems.

The actual mechanics of the arrangement do leave a little to be desired, however, as the selector itself is (as its name suggests) a 4 amp car fuse, which you push into different holders according to how much HF attenuation you require. The fuse is a fairly tight fit, but these type of female connectors (4 amp car variety) are not designed for continuous in and out-ing. I would worry that if, in a hurry, you tried to push the fuse in without first lining it up properly, then the receptacles (which are visible through a narrow slot in the panel and not otherwise accessible from 'our' side) could bend out of place. Having said that, most users would tend to leave it in place for most applications once a preferred setting had been arrived at. It's a good practical touch to incorporate a fuse within the selector link for safety reasons, and you can buy new ones at Halfords or most garages for a modest outlay, or 'borrow' one from your car fuse box in an emergency — I think it's the one for the interior light and radio...

The back panel also contains various items of information regarding power ratings, safety warnings etc. These are all quite useful, especially the safety-related messages that warn of the relationship between exposure to high SPLs and hearing loss, and the inadvisability of suspending the cabinets using anything other than the recommended hardware.

UNWRAPPED

First impressions of these speakers are that they look unfussy and businesslike in black, and are very easy to handle, which is good news for the lone operator. They are not as heavy as they look, but they nevertheless have a good solid feel about them. The black carpet finish is quite kind to the touch (warm in winter!), and the handles are in a sensible place, providing a secure and comfortable grip. The front grille looks okay, and an optional foam screen is available which fits inside it, hiding the drivers from view in applications where discretion is the better part of valour — an excellent and thoughtful touch, especially as the appeal of the red and white printing on the bass driver cone will tend to be a matter of personal preference. The grille does feel a bit bendy, so I took the liberty of trying to push it right in to see if it would touch the bass driver cone and found that it is stronger than it seems at first. In practice, it stops well before the drive units are in any immediate danger. The cabinets incorporate built-in plastic pole mounts, which are fairly deep, but have no fixing screws. There are two bass ports in the rear panel, which have plastic tube liners. Unfortunately, these were not fastened in on the review models (I assume they would normally be glued or pinned in place) and fell out during the course of their first road journey.

Speaking of the rear portholes, they did afford a glimpse inside the enclosures. Even without resorting to an intrusive search, I can report that the cabs are lined with about an inch of some kind of acoustic damping material, and that the bass speaker looks reassuringly chunky within its black cast chassis, secured to the woodwork by the traditional method of bolts into T-nuts.

WATTS IN THE BOX?

On to the amplifier, and — as I was expecting an 800 Watt version — I was rather surprised at how light the box was. Having removed all the bits of packing, I was left with a very compact and neat-looking single rack unit amplifier, promising to deliver 400W per channel yet weighing a mere 3.9kg.

The model reviewed was the SoundTech 'Power Source' PS800. I had already decided that, provided it actually worked, I was going to like it very much indeed due to its compact and lightweight build (not much bigger than four Beano annuals) and its undemonstrative, purposeful styling.

The PS800 is a two-channel, 400W RMS per side into 4 Ohm power amplifier, which features a switch-mode power supply and special fan assisted cooling design to keep size and weight to a minimum. While one quality power amp is much like another in all but objective or more critical tests, the cooling arrangements are worthy of note. This design makes use of cooling tubes, which run down either side of the chassis. Air is driven through these at a variable speed depending on the temperature by two dinky little electric fans, which are cute enough to displace your two favourite bedside teddies. The use of switch-mode power supply circuitry results in a much smaller, lighter unit overall. Another very useful feature is the provision for using the amp in bridged mono mode, simply by means of a switch and an alternative speaker connection on the back panel — all very convenient, and, for those not used to the technique, it takes all the worry out of bridging to obtain greater output power, 800W RMS in this case.

The front panel contains independent channel level controls, which have a multiple-detent feel (very nice), a single power on/off switch, and four LEDs that indicate power, individual channel signal peaking, and operation of the protection circuitry. At either end of the front panel are small grilles, which are the exhaust ports for the cooling tubes. The manual tells you that it is quite normal for the air coming out of these to be warm or even hot, and there are, of course, no large heatsinks to add weight or take up extra space.

The rear panel is where all the connecting up activity takes place, and whilst inputs are accessed by parallel XLR and jack sockets (an excellent and practical arrangement), the speaker output connections are single-post 'banana' sockets. There is another model available called the PS800E, which is exactly the same amplifier but with Speakon connectors (one per channel plus a bridged mono output) instead, and that's definitely the one I'd go for unless I was going to build the amp into a permanent rack setup. The mains lead is of the permanently-attached type, which for me would quickly become a pain unless the amp were housed in a rack, but I guess you have to sacrifice something in a unit this size.

TALKING SHOP

The first time I used the system (in conjunction with a Spirit Folio SX desk and Shure SM58 microphones), it was to provide speech reinforcement and background music in a conference room. After setting everything up and before the meeting, I had about an hour to play around, and I fed it with a mixed CD diet before trying the microphones. I had left the 'TenuFuse' settings as they had been shipped, that is with no attenuation of the HF signal. It quickly became apparent that these LT2 speakers are very efficient in the top end of the range, and I altered the settings to introduce 3dB of HF cut. Although this improved matters, the top end was still far too prominent, and the 6dB setting provided the best results in this environment.

The sound was generally very bright, and at higher volume settings the top end remained clear and projected well. When using the microphones, I kept the level well down with nice clear results.

SOMETHING IN THE AIR

For my second test, I used the system in an open-air test at high volume. Again, the top end was very lively, even with the TenuFuse link in the 6dB position (where it has since remained), and the compression drivers performed with great clarity. With an SM58 mic connected, 'normal' speech was clearly audible at the other end of our four-acre test site. I experimented with solo brass instruments too — sax and trombone were very clear and bright, high register trumpet was positively dangerous! With a composite compressed music signal, the top end always dominated. The LT2s definitely seem to be tailored to vocals and naturally bright sources which need to cut through the mix.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Finally, I used the system at a club band rehearsal where we amplified only four-part vocals, which had no trouble at all cutting across the other instruments. I found it easy to maintain clarity, but obtaining a warmer sound for Georgie's solo Sondheim number called for a bit more twiddling at the desk. As I became more used to the speaker characteristics, I found that for vocal work, it was easy to achieve the required degree of clarity and projection without resorting to excessive levels, and the vocal HF EQ controls on the desk never got past their 12 o'clock positions. For all their top-end prominence, the LT2s certainly produced a respectable amount of bass, especially considering their relatively modest dimensions. It is worth noting that — particularly as the bass ports face backwards — you can alter the sound balance quite a lot by experimenting with speaker placement.

SMALL OBJECT OF DESIRE

And what of the PS800 amplifier? At the end of the three tests, my initial impressions were confirmed: it is indeed compact, neat, lightweight — and yes, it does work rather well. It is also acceptably quiet in operation. With the amplifier placed alongside the speakers and turned up full, the loudest noise apparent — and only then if you listen carefully — was a low hum from inside the case, presumably the power supply, with a discreet whirring from the cooling fans, and virtually nothing at all through the speakers. The sound is very punchy and tight through the SoundTech LT2s and with various other test speakers used. I was very attracted to this amplifier by its physical attributes as much as the sound — it really is a compact and powerful little unit which, thanks to its fan-assisted cooling, you could build into a very tight space if you had to.

CONCLUSION

Overall, I think this system offers good performance and features for the price. It should be well within the financial reach of almost anyone seriously interested in their sound system. The PS800 amp is a real honey, and the LT2 speakers work well, for example, helping live vocals to cut across or in disco/announcement systems. For full-range live band use involving say, bass and kit at any reasonable level, I would tend to use additional bass or mid cabinets — of which there is a fair selection available from this range, and at these prices well worth a look. W

LT2 per pair £649 inc VAT.
PS800 £526 inc VAT.

Smart Sound Direct, PO Bax 1098, Caterham, Surrey CR3 5SZ. (Contact Details)